Friday, April 8, 2016

McAuliffe’s latest screw up (and assuredly not his last one) is the veto of Virginia House Bill 766, which would have granted immediate concealed carry permits to victims of domestic violence with the issue of a protective order.

The Superior Court of California, County of Humboldt is now accepting applications from individuals interested in serving on the Humboldt County Civil Grand Jury for fiscal year 2016-17. The Civil Grand Jury consists of nineteen citizens who investigate citizen complaints relating to local government agencies and non-profit organizations that receive public funding. It is an arm of the Superior Court but an entirely independent body.

Qualifications to be a grand juror are: U.S. citizenship, 18 years of age or older, a Humboldt County resident for at least one year, not currently holding an elected public office position, and not currently serving on a commission or committee appointed by the Humboldt County Board of Supervisors. Grand Jurors are paid $20.00 for every seven (7) hours of actual meeting time, and mileage is reimbursed at .54 cents per mile. Currently, meetings are held on Tuesday and Wednesday mornings each week. The time commitment is approximately 10-20 hours per week.

If you are interested in being a member of the Civil Grand Jury, please call Administration at (707) 269-1200 and ask to have an application mailed to you, or you can download it from www.humboldt.courts.ca.gov. You can also learn more about the Civil Grand Jury by visiting the aforementioned link and clicking on Jury (under the General Information tab on the home page). There is a recruitment video that was taped in Humboldt County and is being used statewide to recruit citizens to serve on grand juries.

Individuals interested in serving on the Humboldt County Civil Grand Jury for Fiscal Year 2016-17 are encouraged to submit an application by May 31, 2016 (deadline may be extended).

...this filing season is the second in which Americans may have yet another—and bigger—tax bill to worry about: the one forced on us by the Affordable Care Act. It serves as a stark reminder of all the ways this law continues to harm American families and businesses, six years after it was signed.

While the Affordable Care Act’s tax increases are many, two are front and center this month: the individual and employer mandates. Both were supposed to increase coverage, but in reality they’re limiting career opportunities and taking more out of families’ and individuals’ wallets.

Start with the individual mandate, which is one of the most controversial provisions of the Affordable Care Act—and for good reason.

This mandate requires every American to be covered by a health insurance policy that complies with the law’s labyrinthine coverage requirements and restrictions. In 2015, for example, annual premiums for “low-cost” bronze plans obtained through the law’s exchanges averaged $2,484 for individuals and $12,420 for families with three or more children. If you don’t think this pricier insurance is worth the cost, or simply can’t afford it, you’ll likely face tax penalties upon filing your return.

The Islamic State is using social media to identify Americans overseas who can be targeted outside of a secure location, experts warned a Senate panel Tuesday.

"One of the emerging tactics that ISIS in particular is trying to use is stalking and killing its foes, especially those who are affiliated with governments," Daveed Gartenstein-Ross, a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, told Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, during a Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee hearing. "Basically, taking them out of the government sphere, making them individuals who can be tracked."

On one side, the real world of rising global terrorism. On the other, the Obama fantasy world in which romancing a geopolitically insignificant Cuba — without an ounce of democracy or human rights yielded in return — is considered a seminal achievement of American diplomacy.

Cuba wasn’t so much a legacy trip as a vanity trip, vindicating the dorm-room enthusiasms of one’s student days when the Sandinistas were cool, revolution was king and every other friend had a dog named Che....

Whatever the reason, he seems genuinely unmoved by a menace the rest of the world views, correctly, with horror and increasing apprehension. He’s been in office seven years, yet seems utterly fixed on his campaign promises and pre-presidential obsessions: shutting down Gitmo, rapprochement with Iran, engagement with tyrants (hence Havana), making the oceans recede (hence the Paris climate trip). Next we’ll see yet another useless Washington “summit” on yet another Obama idee fixe : eliminating nuclear materials.

Priebus' comments come as Wisconsinites head to the polls to cast a vote in a primary that could send the GOP hurtling toward a contested convention or move Trump several inches closer to securing the nomination before the convention begins.

Now an Oakland-based political action committee called Progressive Kick has committed money to back liberal Democrats. Joshua Grossman, president of Progressive Kick, said the organization plans to spend “in the six figures at a minimum.” He declined to say where the group would make independent expenditures beyond races where they see “an alternative besides a Republican” to centrist Democrats, which could include targeting incumbents and open seats....

“You basically have three parties (in Sacramento): you have progressive Democrats, you have corporate Democrats and you have Republicans...”

Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump on Monday slammed the #NeverTrump movement in remarks one day before Wisconsin's primary.

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"You know what these are? These are establishment people that don't want to see it happen because they're all on the trough; they're all making a lot of money. I don't even think in many cases they care who wins; they want to keep it going," Trump said at a rally in Superior, Wis.

"If they worked this hard to stop Obama, Obama wouldn't have had a chance, you know that?" Trump said.

"Others call these junkets a form of legalized bribery. They are designed to allow special interest lobbyists to have exclusive call on lawmakers’ attention, against which the officials’ small fry constituents cannot afford to compete."

The video showed clips of several prominent Democrats arguing that hearings should not be held for presidential nominees. At the time all of the quotes were said, a Republican president was in the White House.

“President [George H.W.] Bush should consider following the practice of a majority of his predecessors and not, and not name a nominee until after the November election is completed,” then-Sen. Joe Biden said in 1992.

“I believe this is one of the most important roles that the Senate plays. This, after all, is in the Constitution. We are asked to give advice and consent or to deny advice and consent,” then-Sen. Hillary Clinton said in 2005.

“Duties of a United States Senator set forth in the Constitution of the United States, nowhere in that document does it say the Senate has a duty to give presidential nominees a vote,” then-Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D., Nev.) said in 2005.

“Let me say this, we should reverse the presumption of confirmation,” Sen. Chuck Schumer (D., N.Y.), who is expected to succeed Reid in 2017 as the Senate Democratic leader, said in 2007.

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We bring you news and views for Republicans - from Humboldt County to Washington DC - news, opinion and analysis from the best reporters, columnists and bloggers. A one stop shop with links to local, state and national groups, contact info for the Board of Supervisors, the City Councils, Planning Commission, and more.

“Political tags - such as royalist, communist, democrat, populist, fascist, liberal, conservative, and so forth - are never basic criteria. The human race divides politically into those who want people to be controlled and those who have no such desire.” .....Robert A. Heinlein quotes (American science-fiction Writer, 1907-1988)